Following a few weeks of quiet resolution before the Lord, we want to encourage you with the encouragement we have received. You often read our pleas for volunteers to assist those families affected by disasters in life; hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Now an economic tsunami has washed across our country. Many individuals, families, and communities are facing feelings much the same as those suffered in the aftermath of Katrina. The sense of great loss, despair, fear, and overwhelming hopelessness surrounds us daily. People are searching for a beacon of Hope in the midst of this gloomy storm. The Lord has encouraged us to give an answer to the hope that lies within us.
How To BE a Beacon:
1. Stand firm in your FAITH IN GOD, not in what you know or understand in the natural. Isaiah 7:9 (NIV)
”If you do not stand firm in your faith,
you will not stand at all.”
2. Man’s help is worthless compared to the victory you have in Christ. Psalm 60:11-12 (NIV)
”Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.”
Therefore, we must not put hope in the government, banks, stock market, family, friends, or our own abilities, talents, and resources. Our HOPE is in Christ alone.
3. The LORD is our focus – not the world around us. Isaiah 8: 13-14a
3. The LORD is our focus – not the world around us. Isaiah 8: 13-14a
The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary
4. Even old time prophets and people of God went through hard things. Of course Jesus Himself paid the ultimate price for us all. Yet we have peace that passes understanding and Hope! 1 Peter 3:14-16 (NIV)
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
5. A call to prayer and spiritual disciplines are required at all times, but this is an URGENT call highlighted in times of desperation. Are we desperate enough yet for our neighbors and country and world, to call out to God in earnest expectation and HOPE of His move of grace?
Psalm 43:4-5 (NIV)
Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
6. We appreciate all of you so much. So we write with a new depth of awareness of how all ministry (any of us are part of) is part of a massive mosaic of Jesus Himself spreading globally. We wanted to encourage every saint, especially when it seems your role is being unproductive, with little hope of impact, or seems so small in time or effect: Never doubt your worth or your part! You have an equal role and reward!
As we pray for one another and others globally, let us humbly thank the Lord for our assignments—each significant as He orchestrates what each brings to Him in His service.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (NIV)
With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessings to each of you and your families,
JD & Toni Smith
CitiIMPACT Ministries
PS. Watch soon for more information for 2009 and beyond initiatives for ministries affecting those affected by disasters in life, and ways you can bridge HOPE to those who need and seek HOPE! These include adequate/affordable housing, counseling, missions and more!
